Wrestling at the 1928 Summer Olympics – Men's Greco-Roman heavyweight

The men's Greco-Roman heavyweight was one of thirteen wrestling events held as part of the wrestling at the 1928 Summer Olympics programme. The competition was held from August 2 to 5, and featured 15 wrestlers from 15 nations. Heavyweight was the heaviest category, including wrestlers weighing over 82.5 kilograms (181.9 lb).

Men's heavyweight Greco-Roman wrestling at the Games of the IX Olympiad
Venue	Krachtsportgebouw
Dates	August 2–5
Competitors	15 from 15 nations
Medalists
Rudolf Svensson  Schweden Hjalmar Nyström  Finnland Georg Gehring  Deutschland

Competition format

This Greco-Roman wrestling competition introduced an elimination system based on the accumulation of points. Each round featured all wrestlers pairing off and wrestling one bout (with one wrestler having a bye if there were an odd number). The loser received 3 points. The winner received 1 point if the win was by decision and 0 points if the win was by fall. At the end of each round, any wrestler with at least 5 points was eliminated.

Results

Round 1

The first round produced 4 winners by fall (0 points), 1 bye (0 points), 3 winners by decision (1 point), and 7 losers (3 points).

Bouts

Winner	Nation	Victory Type	Loser	Nation
Josef Urban	Czechoslovakia	Fall	Gustave Colpaert	Belgien
Aleardo Donati	Italien	Fall	Simon de Lanfranchi	Frankreich
Georg Gehring	Deutschland	Fall	Emil Larsen	Dänemark
Mehmet Çoban	Türkei	Decision	Jorge Briola	Argentinien
Eugen Wiesberger Sr.	Österreich	Decision	Alberts Zvejnieks	Lettland
Rajmund Badó	Ungarn	Fall	Ibrahim Sobh	Ägypten
Rudolf Svensson	Schweden	Decision	Hjalmar Nyström	Finnland
Jacob Simonis	Niederlande	Bye	K.A.	K.A.

Points

Rank	Wrestler	Nation	R1
1	Rajmund Badó	Ungarn	0
1	Aleardo Donati	Italien	0
1	Georg Gehring	Deutschland	0
1	Jacob Simonis	Niederlande	0
1	Josef Urban	Czechoslovakia	0
6	Mehmet Çoban	Türkei	1
6	Rudolf Svensson	Schweden	1
6	Eugen Wiesberger Sr.	Österreich	1
9	Jorge Briola	Argentinien	3
9	Gustave Colpaert	Belgien	3
9	Simon de Lanfranchi	Frankreich	3
9	Emil Larsen	Dänemark	3
9	Hjalmar Nyström	Finnland	3
9	Ibrahim Sobh	Ägypten	3
9	Alberts Zvejnieks	Lettland	3

Round 2

All 7 bouts were won by fall, with none of the winners gaining any points. Donati, Gehring, and Urban stayed at 0; Çoban, Svensson (with a bye), and Weisberger stayed at 1; Nyström and Zvejnieks stayed at 3. Also with 3 points were Badó and Simonis, after their first loss each. The other 5 round 2 losers had also lost in round 1; they were eliminated.

Bouts

Winner	Nation	Victory Type	Loser	Nation
Josef Urban	Czechoslovakia	Fall	Jacob Simonis	Niederlande
Aleardo Donati	Italien	Fall	Gustave Colpaert	Belgien
Georg Gehring	Deutschland	Fall	Simon de Lanfranchi	Frankreich
Mehmet Çoban	Türkei	Fall	Emil Larsen	Dänemark
Alberts Zvejnieks	Lettland	Fall	Jorge Briola	Argentinien
Eugen Wiesberger Sr.	Österreich	Fall	Ibrahim Sobh	Ägypten
Hjalmar Nyström	Finnland	Fall	Rajmund Badó	Ungarn
Rudolf Svensson	Schweden	Bye	K.A.	K.A.

Points

Rank	Wrestler	Nation	R1	R2	Total
1	Aleardo Donati	Italien	0	0	0
1	Josef Urban	Czechoslovakia	0	0	0
1	Georg Gehring	Deutschland	0	0	0
4	Mehmet Çoban	Türkei	1	0	1
4	Rudolf Svensson	Schweden	1	0	1
4	Eugen Wiesberger Sr.	Österreich	1	0	1
7	Rajmund Badó	Ungarn	0	3	3
7	Hjalmar Nyström	Finnland	3	0	3
7	Jacob Simonis	Niederlande	0	3	3
7	Alberts Zvejnieks	Lettland	3	0	3
11	Jorge Briola	Argentinien	3	3	6
11	Gustave Colpaert	Belgien	3	3	6
11	Simon de Lanfranchi	Frankreich	3	3	6
11	Emil Larsen	Dänemark	3	3	6
11	Ibrahim Sobh	Ägypten	3	3	6

Round 3

The Urban–Donati and Gehring–Çoban bouts each featured 2 wrestlers with fewer than 2 points and therefore no elimination possible for either wrestler in the bout. The Nyström–Wiesberger bout also ended in no eliminations, as Nyström won by decision to leave both wrestlers at 4 points. Zvejnieks and Simonis were eliminated. Urban was the only man left with 0 points; Gehring and Svensson also remained below 2 points and thus safe from elimination in the next round.

Bouts

Winner	Nation	Victory Type	Loser	Nation
Rudolf Svensson	Schweden	Fall	Jacob Simonis	Niederlande
Josef Urban	Czechoslovakia	Fall	Aleardo Donati	Italien
Georg Gehring	Deutschland	Decision	Mehmet Çoban	Türkei
Rajmund Badó	Ungarn	Fall	Alberts Zvejnieks	Lettland
Hjalmar Nyström	Finnland	Decision	Eugen Wiesberger Sr.	Österreich

Points

Rank	Wrestler	Nation	R1	R2	R3	Total
1	Josef Urban	Czechoslovakia	0	0	0	0
2	Georg Gehring	Deutschland	0	0	1	1
2	Rudolf Svensson	Schweden	1	0	0	1
4	Rajmund Badó	Ungarn	0	3	0	3
4	Aleardo Donati	Italien	0	0	3	3
6	Mehmet Çoban	Türkei	1	0	3	4
6	Hjalmar Nyström	Finnland	3	0	1	4
6	Eugen Wiesberger Sr.	Österreich	1	0	3	4
9	Jacob Simonis	Niederlande	0	3	3	6
9	Alberts Zvejnieks	Lettland	3	0	3	6

Round 4

All 4 bouts this round were won by fall; Nyström and Wiesberger needed to win that way to continue, as they started (and ended) with 4 points. Svensson and Gehring each stayed at 1 point, now in the lead as Urban took his first loss and moved to 3 points. The other three losers, Badó, Çoban, and Donati, were eliminated.

Bouts

Winner	Nation	Victory Type	Loser	Nation
Rudolf Svensson	Schweden	Fall	Josef Urban	Czechoslovakia
Georg Gehring	Deutschland	Fall	Aleardo Donati	Italien
Hjalmar Nyström	Finnland	Fall	Mehmet Çoban	Türkei
Eugen Wiesberger Sr.	Österreich	Fall	Rajmund Badó	Ungarn

Points

Rank	Wrestler	Nation	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total
1	Georg Gehring	Deutschland	0	0	1	0	1
1	Rudolf Svensson	Schweden	1	0	0	0	1
3	Josef Urban	Czechoslovakia	0	0	0	3	3
4	Hjalmar Nyström	Finnland	3	0	1	0	4
4	Eugen Wiesberger Sr.	Österreich	1	0	3	0	4
6	Rajmund Badó	Ungarn	0	3	0	3	6
7	Aleardo Donati	Italien	0	0	3	3	6
8	Mehmet Çoban	Türkei	1	0	3	3	7

Round 5

The two leaders faced off (neither could be eliminated, however), with Svensson prevailing (ultimately securing himself the gold medal). Urban, who had 0 points after 3 rounds, now had 6 points after two consecutive losses and was eliminated in 5th place. Wiesberger was also eliminated in his victory over Urban, as he needed a win by fall to continue but won by decision instead. Nyström had a bye.

Bouts

Winner	Nation	Victory Type	Loser	Nation
Rudolf Svensson	Schweden	Fall	Georg Gehring	Deutschland
Eugen Wiesberger Sr.	Österreich	Decision	Josef Urban	Czechoslovakia
Hjalmar Nyström	Finnland	Bye	K.A.	K.A.

Points

Rank	Wrestler	Nation	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	Total
1	Rudolf Svensson	Schweden	1	0	0	0	0	1
2	Georg Gehring	Deutschland	0	0	1	0	3	4
2	Hjalmar Nyström	Finnland	3	0	1	0	0	4
4	Eugen Wiesberger Sr.	Österreich	1	0	3	0	1	5
5	Josef Urban	Czechoslovakia	0	0	0	3	3	6

Round 6

The only bout possible was Nyström against Gehring, as Svensson had already faced each of the other wrestlers. Svensson thus ended up with his second bye of the tournament and the gold medal.

Bouts

Winner	Nation	Victory Type	Loser	Nation
Hjalmar Nyström	Finnland	Decision	Georg Gehring	Deutschland
Rudolf Svensson	Schweden	Bye	K.A.	K.A.

Points

Rank	Wrestler	Nation	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	Total
	Rudolf Svensson	Schweden	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
	Hjalmar Nyström	Finnland	3	0	1	0	0	1	5
	Georg Gehring	Deutschland	0	0	1	0	3	3	7